State Attorneys General Increase Antitrust and Consumer Protection Enforcement
State attorneys general are increasing their antitrust and consumer protection enforcement, setting the pace and tone in merger review, conduct investigations, and enforcement actions.
On the antitrust front, this increase is significant because it shows that states can and do step into the enforcer role even when the federal government declines to do so. As to consumer protection, businesses are now required to navigate the potentially divergent priorities of multiple enforcers and the rapidly expanding patchwork of state consumer protection laws.
Collectively, this increased enforcement was a central theme at the Spring Meeting of the ABA Antitrust Section.